"So... what now?" Tsukauchi asked, finally done staring at the doorway the fiery teen had just walked through. The room was silent for a moment. Toshinori seemed to have aged twenty years, although that might just have been due to his Quirk being deactivated, and his head was in his hands.

Nedzu took a long sip of tea, but found that it seemed to no longer taste as good. "I think it would be prudent to-"

"I still want her," All Might intervened. The other two occupants looked at him in shock.

"Really, Yagi?" Tsukauchi wanted to physically hammer some sense into his old friend's thick skull, but knew there was little chance of that working. "She's... unstable! I finally remembered where I met her before, too! She's was or is a vigilante, and-"

"Tsukauchi-san," Yuuei's principal held up a paw to stop the man's tirade. "We know about her vigilantism."

"You don't understand! The guy who she caught said that she took his Quirk. Took his Quirk! I thought it was bullshit at first, but-"

"So what?" Toshinori seemed to be in the business of interrupting people now. "So what if she has All For One's Quirk? Quirks don't make people evil."

"She clearly hates him as well," The bear-rat piped up. A glare was sent his way accompanied by dark hair.

"I think that she's right for One For All." Toshinori raised his head, his eyes blazing a beautiful azure. "I failed her once by failing to save her. I have a chance to make it up to her now. She epitomizes what it means to be a hero, and her father, if that's what he is, being a villain doesn't change that. We can rise beyond our origins to become something infinitely greater."

'He's comparing her to himself,' Tsukauchi realized. It was dangerous. "Her father is not just 'a villain'. He's the boogeyman of humanity - the worst of them all."

"I know that. God, Naomasa, don't you think I know that?!" All Might replied. "That makes no difference - not to me. I have a feeling that she's the one who should be the Ninth Holder, and you can not change my mind."

'I know...' Tsukauchi regretted where his thoughts went. 'But I can change hers.' Still... "Power like this shouldn't be decided on a whim, Yagi!"

"It's not about 'power'!" All Might rumbled, suddenly back into his (more) muscular form. "It's about being a hero. For all we do at this school, you can not teach someone how to be heroic. That is a choice that they must make constantly, consistently. Heroes are not made. They are born. One For All is simply a way to make a hero's soul shine brighter. And that girl, Izumi Midoriya... She has the brightest soul I've ever met."

Izumi flicked a tennis ball at the wall, then pulled it back with Attraction. She had been doing this for the best part of half an hour, the rhythmic thumping doing its best to fill the emptiness she was feeling. Wasn't anger supposed to be freeing, or something? She didn't feel freed, reinvigorated, nothing like that... She just felt... regretful.

And that regret made her feel angry again, this time at herself. It was a self-sufficient cycle, and a brutal one at that. 'They didn't deserve that...' Izumi moped. 'Plus, there goes a whole heck ton of my secrets. I'll be lucky if I'm allowed to stay in Yuuei. Hell, I'll be lucky if I can stay out of prison.'

The door to her room opened. "Hey," Shouta greeted. He seemed to still be notably exhausted from the day before. Izumi stopped pulling at the ball, and it fell to the floor on the next hit, bouncing quietly.

"Yo," Izumi murmured. Shouta sat down next to her on the floor, quiet for a little bit. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just seeking comfort in the other's aura.

"... You're not expelled, if that's what you're wondering."

Izumi laughed mirthlessly. "You already know, huh? Bet they couldn't wait to go blabbering."

Aizawa shook his head. "It's not like that. You should've... You should've told me."

"Told you what?" Izumi questioned more forcefully than she intended. "That I was experimented on? Tortured? A freak of nature?"

"You are not a freak of nature." The green-haired teen felt Aizawa's black eyes bore into the side of her head. "You are just a child. It's not your fault. It never has been."

"I know."

"It's not your fault," Aizawa repeated.

Izumi grit her teeth. "I know."

"It's not your-"

"I know!" Izumi finally shot up and screamed. "I know, I know, I know!" She didn't want to be angry, she realized. But she had to be, because there was nothing else that she wanted to be. Or, maybe, nothing else she wasn't scared of being. All of the sudden, she froze.

Clothed arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry." Her dad sounded mournful, truly.

"I... Don't... You shouldn't..." Izumi started hiccupping, roughly wiping at her eyes as she pulled away. "I-I'm not worth feeling sorry for. There are so many people-"

"No." Shouta insisted. "You shouldn't have had to suffer, Izumi. Nobody deserves to suffer. I don't care if someone else suffered more than you. You shouldn't have suffered, either, and neither should they. But them suffering more than you doesn't make your suffering invalid. It's okay to not be okay."

Finally, the floodgates opened, and Izumi slumped to her knees, sobbing. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Aizawa knelt down and comforted her, albeit slightly awkwardly. He wasn't used to being in this position, but... "It's alright, Izumi. It's not your fault."

"I-" She hiccupped. "I stole one of that thing's Quirks. I didn't even-"

"It was a life or death situation," the Underground Hero consoled. "You probably saved All Might's life. Probably saved my life."

Izumi shook her head, the tears still coming. "B-But... I... I shouldn't-"

"Shh, Izumi..." Eraserhead comforted. "That... that Nomu... it wasn't a person. Not anymore, if it ever was. There was no processing in its brain. What you did, it was a good thing. You can never have a perfect rule - there's nothing that will apply to every single situation. You can come close, but sometimes, things just... have to happen." He engulfed his daughter in another hug. "You're not a bad person, Izumi. You did that to protect people."

The girl kept crying, and Hizashi found them in the same spot when he came home an hour later. Izumi wasn't crying anymore, but she certainly still needed comfort. And, as he walked away from the room, he could've sworn he heard his boyfriend say, "I love you too, Problem Child. That will never change." A thankful smile bloomed on the blond man's face. His family needed to be there for each other. He wasn't as close to Izumi as Shouta was, but... he would still help how he could.

"My Quirk... kills me slowly," Izumi admitted softly. "My body can't handle the strain of having multiple Quirks, although it's lessened because of the genetic predisposition towards them. But, whenever I took someone's Quirk, it became... so much worse..." She mumbled.

Aizawa's mouth dried. "The blood on your glove-"

"From when I took the electric guy's Quirk, yeah..." She was silent for a moment. "But, with this Quirk, it's almost like the opposite. Not only is it counteracting itself, it's also stopping my other Quirks from degrading my body. But... that seems to also be limiting it. It probably won't be able to... recreate limbs or stuff, since it's too busy healing my cells already."

"... How long have you known about it?" The black-haired man asked finally.

"Always." Came the immediate answer. "The day I got Telekinesis, I started coughing up blood. I-... We went to the doctor, and he said my body's cells were fighting each other, and they weren't sure why. My dad wanted to take the Quirk back, but I-I was so excited to finally have a Quirk, damn it! I wouldn't let him."

"Your dad...?" Shouta prompted, seeking confirmation.

Izumi slumped down. "All For One. Hisashi Midoriya."

Shouta frowned. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but... Everything had lined up. All For One wasn't exactly a secret, per se, to some of the Yuuei staff, but it wasn't something that was spread around willy nilly, either. Knowledge of a villain stronger than All Might, that they couldn't track, couldn't capture... It would rattle society, without a doubt. Endeavor would probably go insane trying to find him and take him down, that or lose his Quirk, and then they'd be without a Number Two.

"I see." He wasn't sure how else to respond. "And he-"

"Yep. Him and his 'doctor', although I'm not sure what place would ever give him a degree. He tried implanting- well, first, he tried extracting my Quirk. And then, when that didn't work, he tried implanting Quirks into me to try and break me. My body kept accepting them, though, killing me at an increased pace rather than destroying my mind. So he took them back. Eventually, he just... gave up. Said he didn't want to keep torturing his child. Told me to go and get stronger, and I think it's the same reason why he's letting All Might get stronger."

Shouta breathed in deeply. "And that is?"

"Awakening All For One. The Quirk," she added, to minimize confusion. "Right now, he can't take Quirks from people who share significant amounts of DNA with him, and he can't weave the Quirks together without conscious effort."

"Awakening... Like, a higher stage?" Shouta questioned, an eyebrow raised. The green-eyed teen nodded, and he took this as a signal to continue. "And you can do those?"

This time, Izumi shook her head negatively. "No. I have a 'copy' of his Quirk, although it's really just a rough imitation of it. It should've been a lot weaker, but with my original Quirk, it's nearly the same strength. I can't bypass the DNA relation, but I can weave them together... theoretically. I've never- you know," Izumi waved her hand, giving a half-hearted giggle-sob as a few tears leaked from her eyes. "Quirks awaken under stressful situations, right? They're a response to a true fight or flight scenario - so they can't be tricked into Awakening. So he's trying to ensure someone gets strong enough so that he can Awaken his own Quirk, and that way, he'd be unstoppable. He wants All Might's Quirk."

"Wait, All Might is related to that... Villain?" Shouta considered the implications of the question.

"T-technically," Izumi laughed awkwardly. Neither party involved mentioned how forced it was. "I'm not really sure- uh... It would be better to ask him yourself. I don't really know the full story."

The Underground Hero made a face. "All... right." He cleared his throat a little. "School was canceled today, of course, but we'll be back in there tomorrow."

"Just for the Friday?" Izumi snickered slightly, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks. She tried to keep her voice even. "Feels like they should just let us have the weekend."

"Yuuei didn't get to where it is by going easy on its students," Aizawa pointed out. "There's counseling if any-"

"-I don't need it."

"I didn't say you did, but it's there, it's confidential. Additionally, there's going to be the Sports Festival-"

Izumi stared at the man intensely. "It's still on?"

Aizawa clicked his tongue. "Yeah. I don't think it's a great idea, but... Nedzu wants to show that Yuuei is still going strong after the USJ attack. Plus, from the children they've talked to, nobody seems too distraught over it."

"And what if it gets attacked?" Izumi pointed out. "Has the principal decided it's worth the risk?"

"I don't pretend to know what goes on through that rat's head, but all of the faculty will be there, including All Might, as well as a slew of potential heroes who have children or siblings in Yuuei. For instance, the Number Two Hero, whose son is in your class, and the Number Sixteen Hero, Ingenium."

Izumi scrunched her nose distastefully, but sighed. "I'm assuming you can't try and change his mind."

Aizawa sighed. "Definitely not. Once that evil rat gets his mind set on something..." They frowned in unison. "However, there is someone I've thought about transferring over."

"Oh?" Izumi inquired. "Who?"

Aizawa gave her a deadpan stare. "If I told you, you'd do everything you could to make sure he would win, and that's the exact opposite of what I want to happen."

"A 'he', hmm?" The teen gave a lazy smile. "I'll figure it out eventually."

"You're a menace, Problem Child," Shouta declared. "Anyway, I'm telling you now that, because you were the highest scorer on the entrance exam, you'll be the one leading the pledge, and will be the Student Representative for the freshmen."

Izumi's face fell. "I'm not doing that stupid pledge."

"Then don't. We can't force you. But you'll be saying something, and I know you don't like being put on the spot, so you better figure out something beforehand."

"When's the festival?"

"... Two weeks from now."

Green hair flew as the teen breathed in deeply. "Fuck... Alright. Am I allowed to get out early?"

"You're allowed to do anything, Izumi," Shouta smiled at his daughter. "As long as you get what you want out of it. The Sports Festival is going to be a way for different hero agencies to scout you, so if you already have someone in mind, you don't need to do well, but... I know how competitive you can get."

"That's fair, but..."

"The top three students get unrestricted access to the gyms for the rest of the year."

"I'm in."

"Use it, Izumi. Use your power." A deep voice came from a speaker.

A green-haired girl was sobbing. She was wearing a white hospital gown, but it was heavily stained with dark splotches all over it, and she didn't seem to be older than seven or eight. In the room with her there were two unconscious men, as well as a target set up against the far wall. "N-no, Papa..."

"Do it. Or else, next time, I'll go find one of those Pro Heroes you love and bring them here next time. And if you don't do it, I'll kill these two. I'll kill both of them now. Use your power. Save their lives." The child's resistance didn't last much longer. Still crying, she reached down and grabbed the first man's arm. The room went eerily quiet for a few moments until the sobs started back up. "Good girl," the voice praised. "Now... use it."

Izumi's lime-green eyes were flecked with red spots swirling around in them. Oddly enough, they seemed to be... attacking the green, almost, flaring out and gaining and losing in number. She aimed her hands towards the target on the other side of the room, trying to aim. The tears welling in her eyes made it difficult, though.

"Use it!" The voice demanded. By pure reaction, the Quirk activated. Two bullets shot out from her hands, one from either index finger. One hit the target in the shoulder, the other missed entirely. "Again." She shot again. This time, both hit the target, neither scoring. "Again." A four and a six. "Again, until you hit two bullseyes at once... or set the bullets on fire."

"Papa, it hurts," Izumi sobbed.

All For One ignored her. "Shoot!" Izumi coughed up a bit of blood onto the floor, and the sobbing returned twofold. "Shoot the target!" The child shot again, screaming in pain as she did. Both missed, one hitting the ceiling.

"Pathetic..." The voice muttered. "I thought you wanted to save people. How are you going to save people when you can't even use a Quirk correctly? Doctor-"

"Stop!" Izumi cried. "I'll... I'll do it..." She grabbed the second man's arm, and the room went quiet again. She stood up afterwards, coughing as she did, tears streaming out of her eyes. "I-I... I can do it... I'll... save..." Blood started dribbling out of her mouth. "I'll... save them..."

The room was fading out, blackness beginning to overtake her vision. She was starting to sway, but she held up her arms anyway. Just the effort of keeping them up felt like she was trying to climb through a waterfall of maple syrup. She breathed in, coughing slightly at the taste of copper in her mouth. Her eyelids were closing shut without her approval, and she could hardly feel anything as both Quirks activated and flaming bullets raced towards the target, igniting it on impact.

"Good girl, Izumi..." All For One chuckled through the speaker as the child fell to her knees. She had double vision now, and her nose was beginning to leak blood as well. "Kill them. Dispose of the bodies." He ordered to someone on the other side of the speaker.

"No..." Izumi muttered. The door to the room slammed open, and she thought she could see some large men picking up the men whose Quirks she had taken. "No..." She repeated again, straining to lift her head off the ground. She stared at one of the men, who was looking at her uncaringly as he picked up the kidnapped civilian. He began to hoist him up, and Izumi couldn't take it anymore. "No!" She screamed, and using the rest of her energy, she lifted up one of her arms and fired another flaming bullet.

Her green eyes closed and her head slammed back against the ground after she exercised the rest of her energy. She thought she might've heard a thumping noise as her world faded to black, but she paid it no heed. 'Sleep sounds really good right about now.' The small girl thought. And sleep she did.